Current as at 26 April 2018

Background on Expenditure Reporting

From 1 July 2017, the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) became responsible for publishing parliamentarians' expenditure reports. As part of the move to more regular reporting, IPEA commenced publishing quarterly expenditure reports from the period 1 January to 31 March 2017.

Previously reporting occurred on a six monthly basis and these reports may be accessed from the Department of Finance website.

1. Certification of Work Expenses

Parliamentarians and former Parliamentarians (including former Prime Ministers, surviving spouses of former Prime Ministers and Post Retirement Travellers) are asked to certify that their work expenses are within legislated purpose.

Commencing from the period January to June 2011, information regarding Parliamentarians and former Parliamentarians' certification has been published.

2. Process of Compilation

In accordance with current practice, IPEA prepares the draft reports capturing data from business systems used to process and administer work expenses for:

  • Parliamentarians
  • former Prime Ministers
  • Post Retirement Travellers
  • Surviving spouses or de-facto partners of former Prime Ministers

Preliminary reports are provided to individuals prior to publishing so that they are able to confirm their transactional information. Occasionally an inconsistency or error is identified during this process and in this circumstance and amendment may berequired.

3. Use of COMCAR

Parliamentarians may use COMCAR for transport within Australia to conduct their parliamentary business. The principles contained in the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 apply to the use of Commonwealth Transport.

Ministers and Shadow Ministers (including Parliamentary Secretaries and Shadow Parliamentary Secretaries) may use COMCAR for personal safety reasons (Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017). Further information on this topic is available on the Travel by Commonwealth Transport page of the IPEA website.

4. Why Do Some Offices Have Higher Travel Expenditure?

When comparing parliamentarians travel expenditure it is important to note the following:

  • Ministers are likely to have more staff and a greater requirement to travel (depending on the nature of their portfolio). This may have an impact on the volume and cost of travel for their office.
  • The location and size of a parliamentarians electorate may also have an impact on the overall cost of travel for an office. For example, flights between Perth or Darwin and Canberra are often more expensive than flights between Sydney or Melbourne and Canberra and this will have an impact on the total travel expenditure for that office. This is also the case for electorates in more remote locations as the cost of travel to Canberra may include multiple flights and/or ground transport costs.
  • Some parliamentarians may have a greater requirement to travel overseas depending on their role.For example the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment are likely to undertake a higher volume of overseas travel in meeting the requirements of their role.

5. Historical Changes toExpenditure Reporting

On 27 September 2001, the then Prime Minister announced that expenditure by former Governors-General, former Prime Ministers, other Life Gold Pass holders, severance travel beneficiaries and surviving spouses or de facto partners of certain eligible former Parliamentarians arising from benefits granted to them in recognition of public service, would be publicly disclosed.

The statement further indicated that this disclosure would be done on a six-monthly basis in conjunction with the Parliamentarians' expenditure. The document would contain the same level of detail, in the relevant category, as for Parliamentarians.

From the July to December 2009 reporting period, the reports were enhanced for Senators, Members and certain former Parliamentarians to include the following:

  • office administrative costs, including:
  • office consumables and services
  • printing and communications
  • publications
  • office facilities costs
  • travel allowances and travel expenses for both domestic and overseas travel, including family travel costs.

The 2016 An Independent Parliamentary Entitlements System Reviewidentified a number of recommendations to improve transparency:

  • Office costs (Recommendation 28): From the January to June 2016 reporting period, expenditure on the establishment, relocation and refurbishment of offices is reported separately as Commonwealth expenditure administered by Finance. These costs are no longer reported against individual parliamentarians.
  • More frequent reporting (Recommendation 25): From the April to June 2017 reporting period, aggregate employee travel costs (domestic and overseas) have been included in the expenditure reports.

More Information?

  • Media enquiries regarding expenditure reporting may be directed to
  • Parliamentarians and their staff may obtain advice on reporting by calling 6215 3000 or by emailing
  • Further information on the work expenses framework can be found on the Legislative Framework page of the IPEA website.